Here & there in Sri Lanka

Sister Maris Stella and Sister Maria with Fawzia


Sri Lankans, Buddhists and Christans alike, give alms in memory of their loved ones. These "alms givings" can turn into eating orgies with hundreds of relatives and friends being invited home to eat till they burst. The activity is supposed to bring merit to the departed family members. Feeding the hungry and homeless may have some merit but feeding those who already have enough and more to eat, to me, is a waste of effort.


So, for the past 30 years or so, instead holding "alms givings", our family has provided meals for the indigent at St. Joseph's Home for the Elders at Lansigama, on the Colombo Chilaw road. So, we made another trip to the elders home to give a donation in memory of my father who passed away in July. The home takes care of 150 elders, both men and women, and is run by Catholic nuns. Each time we visit, Sr. Stella Maris and Sr. Maria greet us. The former is Sri Lankan and the latter is Italian. She may be one of the last of the "nursing nuns" who served in Sri Lankan hospitals before they were asked to leave by the chavanist Prime Minister Bandaranaike in 1957. Sr. Maria is now frail but labours on at the home. Considering the many elderly people in Sri Lanka who are neglected by their families, the men and women at Lansigama are fortunate. Catholic nuns are a disappearing breed but I do see novice nuns at Lansigama, which is a sign that the home will continue for the forseeable future.





My cousin Marie had been wanting to visit the musician Victor Ratnayake for some time, so we went to Victors house in August carrying some Sri Lankan sweets made by Marie. Victor was ever the amiable host and his son Lelum was also home that day. Lelum is a drummer who plays with Western bands. Victor's older son is also a musician.











We own a house in Kandy but last year, on an impulse, Fawzia bought another house at Digana, 14kms from Kandy. I strongly opposed the purchase but in retrospect I realize that Fawzia at least saved some money by investing in a house. She can sell it some day and have a nest egg for retirement. The house is small, only about 800 sq.ft. but it's in the Victoria Development and is well managed. The weather was cool while we were there and, thankfully, no mosquitoes were around.














Sheriff on the balcony of his son's house. The Hunnasgiriya hills are in the background. But the house is so isolated that, other than watching TV and occasionally visiting his other sons, Sheriff doesn't have much to do.











Sheriff with son Feroze and daughter-in-law









1983 in the Sultanate of Oman. Swarna is seated with Fawzia. The kid is Roy, about 10 years at that time.


While at Digana, we visit Tom Sheriffdeen, an old friend. We came to know Sheriff in 1983 when we were teaching in the Sultanate of Oman. Sheriff and his wife Swarna (a doctor) befriended us when we most needed their help. Roy had fallen ill and we felt helpless not knowing the hospital system to seek specialist help.


We have remained friends since then and renewed our friendship when they immigrated to the USA in the early 1990s. But the marriage didn't last. Sheriff fell on hard times and his health deteriorated. He has now returned to Sri Lanka to live with one of his sons, Feroze. The attention of his children appear to have revived him because Sheriff appears to be in good health now. Feroze had invested a huge amount of money in building a massive house in the middle of nowhere (it took me more than 30 minutes to drive the 3 km. to the house on a very bad road) and has lost his job and most of his savings. But they remain cheerful and we were glad to see an old friend.

We took a quick trip to Bellwood Farm, especially to revive the spirits of the caretaker Sarath. My brother-in-law Hamlin is a part owner of Bellwood but due to the economic downturn has been unable to invest much in developing the Farm. (Hamlin works in Dubai which has been hit badly.) So Sarath was glad to see us. We talked about getting some cows back to Bellwood and also about tapping the clear spring that runs through the land to start a water bottling plant.

Again, we saw how bad the roads were. We did not risk the car on the final leg of the journey from Galaha town to Bellwood. Instead, we hired a three-wheeler (A "Tuk Tuk") which can better cope with the potholes and the narrow road.

The cow we bought last year for Mangalika Estate had given birth. But her udders were dry which meant no milk for the four children who live on the Estate

We also visited Mangalika Estate in Chilaw bearing gifts. Chandare and Seelawathie, the husband and wife team that looks after the property, are taking care of the two children of their daughter who is away in the Saudi Arabia working as a housemaid. (Her life recently has been a disaster. Separated from her husband, she has been drifting from job-to-job and from one man to another, and, after being terminated from her job in Saudi, she is living there illegally and can't send any money to her parents to support the two children. Such is the plight of the Sri Lankan poor.)

The older child, a girl, had attained puberty, and in Sri Lanka this is an occasion to celebrate. So Fawzia gifted her a pair of gold earrings.

The four children at Mangalika Estate. The younger children of Chandare and Seelawathie are on Fawzia's left. The grandchildren are on her right.

The house at "Pondside" was built in 1997 and it's only about 800 sq. ft. We needed more space so planned to extend the kitchen and enlarge one room. The work started in August and is going on. The photo shows the main mason Pryantha laying the "foundation stone" to the new construction.

The boiling of milk and the serving of milk rice is part of the tradition of house construction in Sri Lanka. Fawzia is boiling some milk here. The man on the left is Beaula's husband (my brother-in-law) Ranji, who too has returned to Sri Lanka from the USA because of his health. The man in the center is Krisantha, my cousin, who is a master carpenter and is in overall charge of the house construction.

Fawzia spent about two month at "Pondside" and I joined her for about two weeks in August. During this period, Prasanna resumed his physical abuse of Padma, his wife, who has appeared on this blogsite previously. So I asked Prasanna to leave. We put Padma in charge of the house, began to pay her a salary instead of to Prasanna, and built her a chicken shed and bought her some chickens so that she would have an independent income. However, two weeks after we returned to Hong Kong, we were told that Prasanna had persuaded Padma to leave "Pondside"and move with him to a rented house. The abuse will start again. Such is the plight of some women who are unable to tear themselves away from abusive relationships. We'll miss Padma's great cooking.